Manassas DUI Stops

DUI stops in Manassas typically follow a standard operating procedure. There are certain things law enforcement officials will look for when trying to ascertain if an individual has been driving under the influence. Call and schedule a consultation with a Manassas DUI lawyer for any further questions regarding DUI stops.

What Typical DUI Stops in Manassas Looks Like

First, the officer usually approaches the car and asks for the driver’s license and registration. At that point, the officer is making observations about the driver. If the officer detects an odor of alcohol, if they happen to notice that the person’s eyes are bloodshot or glassy or drooping, or if they happen to notice that their speech may somewhat slur, then the officer will start to investigate whether that person has been drinking alcohol or is otherwise under the influence of any intoxicants that could impair his ability to drive safely.

Questions Officers Will Ask

A lot of times police ask where the driver is coming from and where he/she is heading. They do that in an effort to determine whether or not the person is coming from a restaurant or other establishment where alcohol might be served. In many cases, the officer will ask point blank whether or not the driver has been drinking alcohol. These are the two primary questions that they’ll ask in order to begin building evidence of a DUI.

Tests Officers Will Perform

If the officer develops the suspicion that the person is driving under some sort of influence, they will often ask the driver to exit the vehicle. The officer will then conduct field sobriety tests. Standardized field sobriety tests include Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Nine-Step Walk and Turn, and One Leg Stand. Those are the primary three that are given in almost every DUI stop. Aside from those field tests, however, the officer might feel compelled to administer tests that are not considered standardized, such as Finger Dexterity Test, where a person has to touch the tip of each finger to their thumb while counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1. They might have the person stand with their feet together, their head tilted back, their eyes closed, and ask that he touch the tip of his finger to the tip of his nose. The officer might also ask a person to perform in some counting exercise like counting backwards from 68 to 47. They might ask the person to say the alphabet without singing, and in many cases, they will ask the person to do it from a certain and distinct stopping and starting point, such as going from C to Q. Those are a lot of tests that have been commonly administered. Despite common mythology, it is very uncommon for an officer to ask a driver to say the alphabet backwards.

General Step by Step Process for Manassas DUI Stop

First, the officer pulls the driver over and asks if he has been drinking or smoking or injecting something that might cause them to be impaired. Next, if the officer is still suspicious about whether that person is under the influence of something, he may ask the driver to exit the vehicle and do standardized field sobriety tests. Finally, the officer might ask the person to perform a roadside breath test, otherwise known as the preliminary breath test or PBT. Based upon all of these observations and evidence, the driver may or may not be arrested.